Being a mother and juggling various responsibilities is a demanding task, especially when it comes to traveling. When mothers make decisions concerning their children, it’s not right to mom-shame them. In this particular case though, some found it hard not to do so.
The New York Post shared a story about a mother, Karen “Kay” Akpan who is a travel influencer, and her decision to upgrade her airplane seat to business class while her 10-year-old son stayed behind in coach.
While discussing the controversy, Kay told NY Post: “I don’t like the mom shaming or parent shaming. The fact that people don’t do things like you doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. Everyone parents differently, and we can be respectful of each other.”
This family is not new to traveling either: Kay, her husband Sylvester, and their son Aiden label themselves as “digital nomads” and travel full time, internationally, or in an RV.
On one of their recent adventures Kay and her husband had the opportunity to upgrade their seats and they immediately took it. She shared a post on her Instagram with the caption, “POV: Enjoying business class with my husband on a 13-hour flight while our 10-year-old sits in the back in economy class because he doesn’t have United Premier 1K status like we do and didn’t get a complementary upgrade.”
The video for this caption was of the couple clinking their drinks in their upgraded seats. She also added “Sorry son” with multiple cry-laughing emojis. Karen then asked her 305,000 Instagram followers if they would have done the same thing.
NY Post noted, “She urged respondents to explain whether the age of their child or the length of the flight would impact their decision.” Shortly after Kay posted her video, the Twitter account @heyyitsjanea shared it, quickly gaining attention, and getting 1.5 million views.
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Once the post blew up, many people thought that it was a joke. Some of the nicer comments included, “I would give the child and my husband the upgrade and I would take the economy seat. 13 hours of alone time IS an upgrade,” and “I honestly LOVE that you left him lol.”
Then there were the mom-shamers, “This is what happens when you weren’t wanted by ready parents,” “Definitely wouldn’t have left my boy,” and “Y’all need parenting classes.”
What do you think you would have done in this situation?
To view the whole story, click the video!
